AmEricAn SociEtY for YAd VASHEm Vol. 47-No. 1 ISSN 0892-1571 September/October 2020-Tishri/Cheshvan 5781 HolocAuSt EducAtion during cHAllEnging timES: dEtErminAtion to PrEVAil year ago, our projections about our not changed despite the multiple obstacles of want to highlight the best of humanity when the educational outreach were a very dif- pivoting to Zoom and remote format. We still face worst was there. By restoring a human face to ferent conversation. We spoke about the same challenges: relevance of the Holo- the victim, we can underscore the resilience of A our continued progress in expanding caust; shrinking population of Holocaust sur- the Jewish people and their ultimate survival. our work regionally and nationally through a va- vivors; a future without Holocaust survivors; time We continue to consider what was lost and riety of events, venues and resources developed how Jews survived. The courage and resilience by Yad Vashem’s International School for Holo- of Jews during the Holocaust must be acknowl- caust Studies. We continued to underscore the edged and promoted. This is also critical to ad- importance of enriching and encouraging Holo- dress the rising tides of anti-Semitism and the caust education and the presence and mission efforts of Holocaust deniers to muffle these im- of Yad Vashem in this process. portant messages and facts. As we are all well aware, these past few e have the additional obligation months, owing to the complicated circumstances of transmitting the lessons from and challenges we face with COVID-19, with this event to present and future school closures, the absence of face-to-face in- W generations with a directive to teraction, anxiety about this deadly virus, and un- educators in all educational settings. In Teacher certainty about the future in terms of a cure, we and Child (1972), Dr. Haim Ginott, child psychol- have had to rethink and recalibrate many as- ogist and author, requests the following from pects of our work that until now did not surface. teachers. His request is timely and relevant for Today, we collectively navigate uncharted waters Holocaust educators today: to sustain our joint mission of Holocaust remem- Dear Teacher, brance through education. I am a survivor of a concentration camp. In the course of identifying opportunities to My eyes saw what no man should witness: reach a broader audience, we have successfully Gas chambers built by learned engineers, pivoted to remote format and, thankfully, can Children poisoned by educated continue our work during these unprecedented physicians, times. The fluidity of adapting also provides a Infants killed by trained nurses, glimpse into many learning and networking op- Women and babies shot and burned portunities previously not considered. We can by high school and college graduates. now connect with educators across the nation to Artifacts from a Holocaust survivor family. These artifacts So, I am suspicious of education. broaden our reach and empower more teachers were used before the Holocaust, hidden during the Holocaust, My request is: Help your students become to share our mission of Holocaust remembrance and proudly used continuously during lives rebuilt. human. Your efforts must never produce with ease thanks to the variety of remote plat- constraints on educators for required subjects in learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, edu- forms available. their curricula; challenges of Holocaust denial; cated Eichmanns. Reading, writing, arith- While these connections existed in the past, and rising tides of anti-Semitism — just to name metic are important only if they serve to make pivoting to remote format has proven to be ben- a few. our children more humane. eficial for both the host and the participant. Ease More importantly, the issues remain the same Collectively, we will honor this request. of access through Zoom allows educators to par- and are increasingly important. The resources We remain optimistic about sustaining our ed- ticipate in programs and seminars across the are still available, but also in additional for- ucational responsibility to this important subject, globe, providing them with a more comprehen- mats — live and remote. despite the many challenges we face, with simul- sive palette of professional development oppor- In times of unprecedented challenges due to taneous learning platforms that we implement tunities. It is not enough simply to possess the the pandemic, we continue to carry the torch of (Continued on page 2) knowledge. We need to keep in mind what is remembrance through education and convey to done with the knowledge and how it is dissemi- the world the survival, resilience and strength of American Society for Yad Vashem nated to be meaningful and relevant. Sustaining the Jews before, during and after the Holocaust. will hold a series of virtual events teacher training and professional development is It is through education and the educational ped- essential. agogy developed by Yad Vashem that we sustain this fall and winter. It is important to recognize that there are this mission and transmit the lessons of the Holo- many aspects of Holocaust education that have caust to present and future generations. We See page 9 for details Page 2 mArtYrdom & rESiStAncE September/october 2020 - tishri/cheshvan 5781 roSH HASHAnAHS of tHE HolocAuSt rEcAllEd bY YAd VASHEm ach year, Yad Vashem opens an on- designed by a talented Dutch Jewish architect, 1942, the Jews of Assen, including Heintje line exhibition of Holocaust-era arti- Abraham van Oosten, for the synagogue in and her daughters, Gonda and Johanna, were facts related to Rosh Hashanah and Assen, in the northeastern Netherlands, where rounded up and deported to the Westerbork EYom Kippur, with stories drawn from he and his family lived. transit camp. its archives. n Westerbork, Gonda married Asher This year the stories range from the heart- Gerlich, a Zionist pioneer. In 1944, the breaking to the redemptive. Jewish News is high- couple was deported to the Bergen lighting two, both of which relate to the I Belsen concentration camp. Gonda’s Netherlands. mother, Heintje, and younger sister, Johanna, Simon Dasberg and his wife Isabella lived in were sent to Auschwitz, where they were mur- Groningen, in the Netherlands, where Simon dered. served as the community rabbi. They had four Gonda, the sole survivor of the van Oosten children — Fanny (Zipporah), Dina, Samuel and family, changed her first name to Tamar and Rafael. in 1946, together with Asher, emigrated to Is- In 1943, the Dasbergs were deported to rael. The couple, now Tamar and Asher Ben Westerbork and from there to the “star camp” in Gera, joined a group of young Palmach pio- Bergen-Belsen. Rabbi Dasberg took a sefer neers and established kibbutz Beit Keshet in Torah with him, which briefly allowed him to read the lower Galilee. They had seven children. from it for services and even guide bar mitzvah Most of the Jews of Assen did not survive boys in the camp. the Holocaust. A few returned, but they were In preparation for Rosh Hashanah 5705 (Sep- not able to reestablish a Jewish community, tember 1944), the Dasberg children made and the synagogue was never reopened. The “Shana Tova” cards in Bergen-Belsen. building was eventually purchased by the local They drew the symbols of the holiday — the Protestant community and converted into a shofar and the apple dipped in honey — deco- church. rated the cards with bright colors, and wished In 1974, Tamar learned that the former their parents a better year than the one they had Assen synagogue was to be demolished. She just lived through. decided to save the stained-glass windows Rafael, the youngest, aged eight, wrote (in her father had designed, and bring them to Is- Dutch): “This year I will be a very good boy, and rael. For a time they were installed in the ren- I will never cry.” ovated dining hall of kibbutz Beit Keshet; but But that year Rabbi Dasberg, his wife Is- as it became clear that the dining hall was no abella, and Rafael were murdered in the camp. longer the central meeting place of the kib- The three elder children survived and emi- High Holy Day symbols on a shul window in Assen, Holland. butz, Tamar asked Yad Vashem for help in grated to Israel after liberation. The Rosh The windows were completed and installed in preserving the windows for posterity. Hashanah cards were brought to Yad Vashem by 1932. Five years later, van Oosten died, aged Today the van Oosten windows are part of the eldest, Fanny Stahl, nee Dasberg, and pho- only 40. His widow, Heintje, and their three chil- Yad Vashem’s Artifacts Collection, a memorial tographed for the archives. dren, Gonda, Leo and Johanna, remained in the to a Jewish community which no longer exists, In contrast to the sadness of the Dasberg town. but which celebrates the work of Abraham van cards, Yad Vashem also features the story of the In 1940, the Germans occupied Holland. Leo Oosten and the High Holy Days. Van Oosten stained-glass windows. van Oosten was arrested and deported to The High Holy Days–themed windows were Auschwitz, where he was murdered. In October BY JENNI FRAZER, Jewish News HolocAuSt EducAtion during cHAllEnging timES.... (Continued from page 1) outreach in addition to our “live” programs. While nation against Jews of all walks of life, was not a to navigate these difficult times. We keep in mind our complete calendar will be ready in our next new concept in 1933. It was widespread and our commitment to effectively commemorate the issue of Martyrdom and Resistance, we are prevalent in many countries. The Nazi regime am- Holocaust and sustain its relevancy through alter- pleased to share with you the date for our upcom- plified and manipulated the latent prejudices of its native learning platforms, despite the challenges ing 2021 Arfa Professional development con- citizens.